The Crew
We are a fun loving, professional and discreet crew. One of our attributes is a canny ability to read the requirements of our charter clients before they need anything, but most importantly, we emphasize the necessity to read how guests wish to be treated, not everyone wants the crew shadowing their every move. We believe in a much more dynamic way of making sure you get the 6 star plus service that you have chartered our yacht for.
Captain - Paul Mcwilliams, British
Paul started in the yachting industry in 1998, since then he has worked on an extensive range of vessels, from high-speed performance yachts, to classic sailing schooners. He has been captaining Latiko for 18 years. “Every year I aim to make the guest experience even better than the last, the bed rock of this is making sure we have the very best crew, and by presenting the vessel in top condition” Paul is a keen sports man who is equally at home in the mountains or on the sea.
Captain - Wil Poynton, Australian
Wil began his yachting career in 2006 and worked onboard Latiko since 2009. He has held his captain license since 2016. Born and raised on the beaches of Sydney, Australia, living by or on the sea has always been a part of his life. Wil loves life on the water, learning new languages, travel, new experiences and ultimately having a good time. He strives to help everyone onboard to have a good time also, presenting an outstanding crew and a vessel in top condition.
Chief Mate – Jacques 'JAY' Beukman South African
“Jay” joins us for his 3rd year onboard Latiko and his 6th year working on super yachts. He has grown up surrounded by the ocean in his home town of Cape Town. He is a keen fisherman, having run successful competition fishing boats, kite surfer, surfer and pretty much anything on or in the water. As 1st Mate he is responsible for all your watersports requirements, and is always there with an infectious smile. He is also our 1st bridge officer and can be often found navigating the vessel.
Rotation Chief Engineer - Peter Hardy, British
After 24 years of service Pete left the British Royal Navy last year, where he was an engineering officer ‘first class’. Needless to say; this vast experience has equipped him with the skill set to be an excellent engineer and crew member. Pete is joining us this year as rotational engineer, allowing him to achieve his work/family life balance through a 2 month work rotation. Pete is a fitness enthusiast and also a keen outdoor sports man, enjoying mountain biking and sailing.
Rotation Chief Engineer – Andrew Magracia, Philippino
Andrew also converted to Super Yachts from the commercial shipping industry, he completed his engineer training in 2017, since then he has been working his way up to be Chief Engineer, across a varied range of yachts from 50 – 140m. Andrew is a very skilled engineer, he is transferring his knowledge excellently to keeping all the systems onboard operational.
Chef - Sebastian Herrera, Venezuelan
Sebastian blends his Latin American heritage of Venezuela with his upbringing in France to showcase some incredible creativity which was helped with his career taking off in some of the finest michelin star restaurants Paris has to offer. He brings his passion and creativiy with food to the superyacht industry since 2017, specialising in seafood, mediterranean, latin american and asian cuisine with a special flair for desserts, He is a great addition to the Latiko team this year and we are sure he will delight your every meal.
Chief Stewardess - Reza 'Rezy' Maritz, South African
‘Rezy’ is from the beautiful area of Betty’s Bay, Cape Town, South Africa. Reza has 5 years extensive experience in the yachting industry, as well as several years of high-end hospitality, shore based in South Africa. Last year Reza was our 2nd Stewardess until she took over as chief in October, suffice to say she knows exactly how to deliver that extra special ‘Latikan’ experience. Reza has grown up surrounded by the ocean, she enjoys keeping fit and loves most water sports.
Bosun - Dylan Tunmer, South African
Dylan has also grown up along the beautiful garden route of South Africa where he spent many years working on boats for the National Sea Rescue Institute and continues to volunteer for them when at home. He has been in the yachting industry since 2020 exploring all parts of the ocean including Greenland and Arctic Canada. During his time in yachting he has spent many hours as a chase boat captain aswell as managing everything watersports on the Yacht. Dylan is also our 2 nd bridge officer and can also be found manning the bridge from time to time or trying to convince you the narwahl tusk he saw in the arctic is actually a horn from a unicorn.
Stewardess - Michelle Verreyne, South African
Michelle and her partner Dylan join us this year and we are very happy to have them onboard. Michelle brings with her a vibrant, positive energy with 6 years of yachting experience in all levels of service, and a smile that follows her everywhere, we are sure you’ll be pleased she is onboard also. Michelle grew up surfing along some of South Africa’s most famous surfing beaches and represented the country at a national level. She also loves overland adventures in the outback. Which more or less means she spends her time swimming away from sharks and running from lions.
Stewardess - Harriet Morris-Jones, British
Harriet and her partner Josh mix their time between running chalets in winter on the French alps, and summers in the Mediterranean working on superyachts, which she has done for the past 4 years. This is lucky for us, as Harriet brings a fun, outgoing energy to every room she enters, combined with impeccable hospitality skills. A very talented artist that puts her creativity into all she does. She joins us from lovely Welsh town of Wrexham, recently made famous from the purchase of the local football team by Ryan Reynolds and Netflix documentary “Welcome to Wrexham”.
Deckhand/Engineer - Joshua Charlton, British
Josh has grown up building cars and being around engines at his dads garage in Chester, and continues his passion for all things engineering onboard Latiko for his first season with us. He is also a fully qualified electrician. Handy at whichever sport he puts is efforts into from skiing, motocross racing, cricket and all activities on the water. A super friendly character and brings smiles to all those around him. He’s also a very talented golfer but has not needed to purchase Japanese “Hole in One” insurance yet as he’s still a few decent putts away from knocking one in from the tee box. Very happy to have him onboard this summer.